Two American-flagged vessels have successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the U.S. military, after dismissing claims by Iranian media that a U.S. ship was struck by missiles.
“American forces are actively assisting efforts to restore transit for commercial shipping. As a first step, 2 U.S.-flagged merchant vessels have successfully transited through the Strait of Hormuz and are safely headed on their journey,” CENTCOM said.
The update comes after CENTCOM denied reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit a U.S. warship with two missiles.
Iran's navy said it had prevented the entry of enemy warships into the Strait of Hormuz by issuing a "swift and decisive warning.”
Project Freedom consists of guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members, according to the U.S. military.
The mission of the initiative is to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. A quarter of the world’s oil trade at sea and significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer products are transported through the critical waterway.
President Donald Trump earlier Monday announced U.S. forces would help guide stranded vessels, describing it on social media as a humanitarian effort on behalf of the United States, the Middle East, and particularly Iran.
Meanwhile, Trump said that his negotiating team was having “very positive” discussions with Iran.